Hiking Easter Island: Getting off the Beaten Path (Literally)

One afternoon, we set off
to hike to the top of the highest point on the island.Maunga Terevaka, at 511 meters above sea
level, is not actually that high, but it promised 360-degree views of the entire island and surrounding ocean.As
soon as we pulled into the nearby parking lot, the sky opened up and the rain started
to pour.We huddled in the car as the
rain streaked down the windows, attempting to reach our best meteorological
assessment of whether the rain would let up anytime soon.

As we waited, several dripping wet stragglers
appeared, hiking down the trail out of the fog.Eventually, the clouds cleared and we decided that it was as good a time
as ever to start our three-hour trek – Stephanie, at least, had planned ahead
and brought her raincoat.

We headed up the trail,
winding through fields and even a few patches of hardy trees.Soon enough, we were caught in yet another
torrential downpour and a cloud bank obscured the trail.Somewhere along the way, we managed to turn
onto the wrong trail (there are seemingly no trail markings on Easter Island).We eventually decided we were on the wrong
track and turned around, but not before leading a family of Dutch tourists who had followed us astray. Despite confessing our mistake, they kept heading up our original path and we never saw them again...hopefully they made it home safely.

We kept our heads down to
escape the sideways rain and wind, occasionally asking one another where the
top of this supposed mountain might be.From the top of one volcanic crater, we could see another higher peak,
and continued on our way, encountering a few lost Spaniards en route.(Not only were the Spaniards lost, but they
had made the questionable decision to hike in their flip flops.)

Once we finally reached
what we determined to be the top, we thought we would just have a picture of
the clouds to post on the blog, much like our visit to the Grand Canyon.However, as
we waited, the ocean surrounding us on four sides gradually became
visible.We were finally certain that we
had reached the highest point on the island.

Hiking to Rapa Nui’s
highest “peak” was simply preparation for our second hike, tackling the remote
northwest corner of Easter Island.Armed
with an imprecise map and some comments from a TripAdvisor forum, we set off
just prior to sunrise from Anakena Beach for what would be an almost fifteen
mile expedition.

For the next several
hours, we felt like the only people on the island as we followed the rock
strewn “path” along the coast.(Fun
fact: Rocks cover the surface of Easter Island, primarily because they were
once used for lithic mulching, a form of farming in nutrient-poor soil such as
that of Easter Island.) Along the way, we encountered several wild horses and
various unexpectedly menacing cows.

We were also constantly on
the lookout for archaeological artifacts.We’re sure there were several objects we overlooked given that Easter
Island’s archaeological wonders tend to blend in with the plethora of regular
rocks dotting the landscape.Regardless,
we found remains of villages, toppled moai,
and petroglyphs.

For the better part of the
day, we followed horse and cow paths along the coast, diverging from the path
only to avoid the most menacing bulls guarding their territory.We climbed over or under various sections of
barbed wire, although it was not clear what was being fenced in (or out) in the
desolate landscape.We were glad that we
had started our day early since there is limited shade on Easter Island (an
unsurprising result of deforestation).We even welcomed the occasional rain shower and brisk gust of wind, as
well as multiple stops for peanut butter and jelly and Daim bars.

The hike offered a
magnificent sense of solitude as well as gorgeous views of the Pacific
Ocean.The lack of a clearly marked path
brought an added sense of adventure, particularly when we suddenly found ourselves at
the edge of the island staring down a vertigo-inducing precipice.Fifteen miles was a bit farther than we had
imagined and we were definitely happy to see the roof of our bungalow in the
distance as we approached the end of the day.

Maunga Terevaka:Park your car at Ahu Akivi and
head up the trail.Although there’s a
sign at the beginning of the trail, there won’t be any further directions for
the rest of the hike.Whenever the trail
splits, pick the side that looks like a walking path and ignore the paths that
look like they have been made by tires.

Northwest Coast:Have a taxi drop you off at
Anakena and follow the dirt road that dwindles to a path to the left/west of
the beach.Keep following this path,
such as it is, all along the northwest coast.It’s practically impossible to get lost with the ocean constantly on your
right.You’ll eventually reach signs of
civilization at Te Peu, an archaeological site on the west coast north of Hanga
Roa.From there, you can take the dirt
road to Ahu Akivi to catch a taxi back to town or keep hiking south toward
Hanga Roa.Many guides and books tell
you to do the hike the other way around (starting at Haga Roan and ending at
Anakena) so you can end the day with a swim at the beach.We opted to do the hike the other way around
so we could have the sun on our backs instead of up front.Also, doing the opposite of what most travel books
recommend tends to result in a more solitary experience rather a hike
full of other tourists.

Hiking is a great way to
explore Rapa Nui.And regardless of the
route, we can guarantee you will find a moment when you will get to appreciate
exactly how in the middle of nowhere you are, with nothing but the Pacific
Ocean in every direction.#stephandgio

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About Us

Gio's Description: We are citizens of the world!
Steph's Description: Follow our newlywed adventures from NYC to Africa to SE Asia and finally, to Peru! (With a few stops for weddings along the way.) All adventures planned and documented by Steph, photographed by Gio. As you will probably notice, lots of our adventures involve ponies, seeing wild animals and/or drinking wine. Enjoy!
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